Generic Nouns
Vocabulary
- こと – thing (abstract)
- もの – thing (physical)
- ところ – place, point in time
- 食べる 【た・べる】 (ru-verb) – to eat
- おいしい (i-adj) – delicious
- 始める 【はじ・める】 (ru-verb) – to begin
- 終わる 【お・わる】 (u-verb) – to end
- 好き 【す・き】 (na-adj) – like
- 大切 【たい・せつ】 (na-adj) – important
- 運動 【うん・どう】 – exercise
Special nouns that serve grammatical purposes rather than representing physical objects.
こと (The concept/thing)
Used to turn verbs into nouns for abstract concepts.
食べること - Eating (the act of)
日本語を話すことができる。 - I can speak Japanese.
運動することは大切だ。 - Exercising is important.
もの (The physical thing)
Used for tangible objects or general things.
おいしいもの - Something delicious
何か食べるものがある？ - Is there something to eat?
古いものを捨てた。 - I threw away old things.
ところ (The place/time)
Originally means “place”, but often refers to a point in time.
食べるところです。 - I'm about to eat.
食べているところです。 - I am in the middle of eating.
食べたところです。 - I have just finished eating.
Summary
| Form | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Verb (dictionary) + ところ | About to do |
| Verb (ている) + ところ | In the middle of doing |
| Verb (た) + ところ | Just finished doing |